


Evolving

by 88dragons



Series: Loved Up [4]
Category: Real Person Fiction, The Hobbit RPF
Genre: Ian is a wise ol' owl, M/M, angsty
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-10-03
Updated: 2013-10-08
Packaged: 2017-12-28 08:26:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 7,235
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/989878
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/88dragons/pseuds/88dragons
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Lee is worrying about how Richard will accept his feelings for him. All seeing Ian gives him some advice.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Wise

**Author's Note:**

> I have to thank lost_kitty so much for being my beta. Your input is fantastic! Thanks a bunches!!!

“Why don’t you just tell him?”

Lee jumped at the voice, unexpected as it was. He looked up to find Ian smiling down at him. Ian motioned to the unoccupied seat next to Lee and the American nodded that it was fine for him to sit there. Ian took the seat, setting his cup of coffee down in front of him, a lit cigarette poised between his lips as he took a drag. 

“Tell who what?” Lee did, however, have a pretty good idea who and what Ian was talking about already.

Ian shook his head, but a slight smile graced his face nonetheless. “I am speaking of Richard.” His voice, in spite of the smile on his face, was rather full of authority and stern. “And you know bloody well what I mean.”

Lee’s mouth moved for a few moments much like a fish’s when it was out of water before he finally realized how ridiculous he must look and snapped it shut. He couldn’t help wondering how Ian knew about Richard and him.

“I see things,” Ian answered. Lee was now wondering if the man could read minds as well. “I am an astute study of people and the human condition and I have had a great amount of training over the years. I can see the way the two of you look at each other. I can see how your body language changes when the other is around. I have also observed the differences in Richard from when you are here to when you are not, and the transformation is conspicuous. The others notice as well, but I suspect they do not know the true reason why.”

Lee swallowed hard, his eyes shifting once again to the man across the room. Richard and the other dwarves were sitting at a table in the cafeteria having just come in from running from spiders and being wrapped up in webbing. Some of it still clung to their beards, wigs, and clothing. Lee wasn’t due on set until the next day, so he had come to the cafeteria for something to eat and was half-reading an old copy of a Hemmingway book he had been in possession of since he was much younger. Hemingway, amongst others, had helped him get over his dyslexia from a young age. They still gave him comfort on occasion.

Richard had looked up at him several times since coming in, their eyes meeting, and Lee was happy that he could see a glint that was still truly Richard in his blue eyes, hidden as it were underneath the gruff exterior of Thorin. Lee had smiled at him ever so slightly in those instances, trying to convey through his own eyes so much in those brief periods, before the other man’s attention was called away by his companions and their constant chatter and joviality. It did not happen very often, especially when there were so many other people around, but it was an acknowledgement that Lee appreciated.

“I –” Lee honestly did not know what to say, so instead he just shook his head and put his cheek to his palm propped up on the table by his elbow. “I don’t know if he is ready for how I feel about him.”

Ian took a sip of his coffee, smoke billowing from his nostrils like it would from a dragon. “And how do you feel about him?”

“I think…that I am in love with him. No,” Lee protested, shaking his head fervidly. “I love him. I am sure of that. I am completely and utterly certain in how I feel about him and that I want more.” Lee had to fight to keep his voice down, to keep it from traveling through the room to unwelcome ears, though he thought he would have to bellow into a bullhorn to be heard over the ruckus the dwarves were causing. “And I know he feels the same way; he just doesn’t know how to tell me.”

“And you fear that if you tell him, you will scare him away.” Ian looked Lee in the eye. His blue eyes were twinkling, but his smile was a bit sad. Sadness like he understood what Lee was going through and wished that he didn’t have to. “I would not hesitate to say that he does feel the same way you do, but he is like a child in certain things. His daunting ability not to see his own worth is staggering to behold. I believe his problem now is that, deep down, he can’t understand why you are with him and that leads to him thinking that you will walk away, because to him you have every right to do so.”

“He thinks – He thinks he isn’t good enough for me?” Lee didn’t detect the tad bit of shrillness that had entered his voice.

“When something comes along that is too good to be true,” Ian began, choosing his words carefully. “Let me put it this way: you came along and did what he has believed all his life would happen when he found that one person to be the center of his life. The one person he could connect completely with. You have changed him. You have altered how he thinks and sees things. You have, in a good way, turned his world upside down. He was at a point, up to the very moment he met you, where he was convinced that would not happen. That it was too late for him. And now here you are and he is having trouble having faith in the fact that what is between you will not be taken away from him again, that it is not just a way for the universe to taunt him and show him what could have been and then laugh in his face.” 

Mulling over everything Ian had just said, Lee sat back in his chair, his fingers absently fiddling with the bent edge of the book cover, stealing glances through his lashes at the man across the room that held his heart. Yes, the other man was probably right. Lee knew what he had to do. He just had to figure out how to go about it.

“Thank you, Sir Ian,” Lee said sincerely with a small smile. He was thankful that Ian did not sound as cryptic as he did when he was Gandalf, but he kept that to himself. 

“Not a problem, dear boy. I’m always here if you need me.” Ian’s chuckled good naturedly. “Now. Off you go. Let an old man enjoy his cigarette and coffee for a moment before he has to go round up a bunch of unruly dwarves.”

The loud roar of laughter from the dwarf table brought more than a few pairs of eyes their way, so it was the perfect opportunity for Lee to take one final look at Richard, who was smiling at whatever antics his cast mates were up to, before leaving the cafeteria. He had plans to make.


	2. Knowing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> James has a big mouth and lets Richard in on something that he wasn't supposed to.

It had all happened so out of the blue. One minute, Richard, and the other dwarves were sitting around a large table in the cafeteria, everyone talking about something or another, when James said the one thing, out loud, that made Richard freeze in shock.

“You know, you and Lee make a great couple.”

And everyone went completely silent.

“James!” Ken scolded from the other end of the table.

“Well, it’s true,” James argued. “They do.”

“Don’t you remember what Ian said?” Graham stated. “He said we weren’t supposed to say anything.”

“Especially to Richard,” Aidan said in a hushed voice. As if Richard hadn’t yet heard anything that was being said.

Richard was mortified, sitting there staring at the plate in front of him, unable to look up at his co-workers, his friends. How had they found out about him and Lee? And when?

“Oh, now look,” Jed said in exasperation. “You broke him. You broke Richard, Jimmy.” 

“I was just saying it because it was true,” James argued back. “And it is true, by the way, Richie. We all think so.”

Richard took a deep breath and finally looked up to find twelve sets of eyes on him. He didn’t know what to say, or to do, and for a moment all he could think was to get up and get out as fast as possible.

“See, that was exactly why we weren’t supposed to say anything,” Ken said, shaking his head slowly. 

“Yeah. You know how Richard is. He is probably going to stop seeing Lee now that he knows that we know he is seeing him.” Dean rolled his eyes and joined Ken in the head shaking.

“I’m sorry,” James said to Richard. “Really. Don’t do anything stupid, ok? It just popped into my head, you know, and then I just had to say it.”

It took Richard a few tries, but he finally found his voice. “How did you guys find out?”

Eleven heads turned to James, who threw his hands up in the air. 

“Hey, in my defense, it wasn’t like I was spying. My trailer is in between yours and Lee’s.” When Richard’s eyes grew a tad bit wider, James began waving his hands like a maniac. “Whoa! I am just saying that I see Lee go in and out of your trailer a lot and that for the last few days he hasn’t been going to his trailer at all, just to yours.”

The looks were full blown glares now. James rolled his eyes and crossed his arms over his chest, mumbling. 

“Really, sorry again, Richard,” Stephen was saying. “We were sure that James would listen to Ian and keep his big mouth shut. But you know how he is …”

Richard leaned back in his chair. “How does Ian know?”

“He said he could just tell,” Aidan said.

“Does everyone know?” Richard just had to ask. 

“Well,” Ken began. “Maybe. I know Orli and Evangeline do, and Martin, and Peter, and most of the hair and makeup people.”

Richard placed his elbows on the table and hid his face in his hands. And here he and Lee thought they were being so careful, so secretive. 

“Listen, Rich,” Graham began, leaning around Adam to look at Richard. “We just want you to know that it doesn’t matter. We don’t think any different about either one of you, and we aren’t going to _treat_ you any different then we have been.”

Everyone agreed with that, each nodding or expressing their agreement in some form or fashion. Richard could not help a sigh of relief, but he still wasn’t keen on everyone knowing his business.

“Thank you,” he did manage to say, smiling in appreciation.

At that moment Lee entered the cafeteria, walking towards them at the table, though Richard did not see him because his back was to the door.

“Hey. What’s goin’ on?” Lee asked. He sat down next to Richard, smiling at everyone but it faltered when he saw the looks on everyone’s faces. “Was I interrupting or is this a ‘you’re not allowed here, elf’ kinda thing?”

“They know,” Richard said.

“They know…” Lee shrugged and then it dawned on him. “Oh! I didn’t say anything.”

“You didn’t have to,” James smirked. “We figured it out.”

Lee made a funny face, shrugged, and then helped himself to the food on Richard’s plate. “It’s supposed to rain tomorrow and the next day.”

And just like that everything went on as normal. Or as normal as it could get with this bunch of people, anyway.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Again, and as always, I want to thank lost_kitty for being my beta. Thank you, sister-friend!!
> 
> And to everyone who commented and left kudos. And to everyone who takes the time to read my work. A BIG HUGE THANK YOU!!!


	3. Guilt

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Richard is not happy with what he had found out from James. It starts to weigh heavily on him. Kinda jerk Richard. It was bound to happen sometime.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am posting this a day early because I won't be able to post tomorrow, so SURPRISE!!!
> 
> As always, I thank my beta, lost_kitty. PURRS and many balls of yarn to you!!!

Later on that evening, Richard reluctantly accepted an invitation to go out to a pub with the others. Lee, of course, agreed to come along also. 

It hadn’t been the best day of filming, and now a few hours out of the material aspects that turned him into Thorin, Richard was still having trouble shaking the dwarf from his mindset. 

An hour in and a few drinks later, and Richard was starting to feel as if this hadn’t been a good idea. He was sitting with Martin, James, Jed, Aidan, and Dean at a table. The others were talking about this and that. Richard wasn’t really paying attention. His eyes were focused on Lee who was at the bar with Orlando, Ian, Elijah, and Evangeline. They were all talking and laughing amongst themselves, leaning in close and whispering so no one else could hear them.

Maybe it was the alcohol, or maybe Richard had just come upon a bad mood for some reason, but it bothered him. Not because Lee was spending time with other people. They were individuals and were free to do a great many things. Richard wasn’t the jealous type, at least not enough to not want Lee to socialize as he wanted. No, it was the fact that they were talking the way they were. What was Lee telling them? What was he so eager to discuss now that they both knew that everyone knew about them?

His mood turning sour, Richard excused himself, as politely as he could, but everyone had been drinking so they didn’t pay much attention, and approached the bar. He tapped Lee on the shoulder to get his attention.

“I’m going to go on,” he explained when Lee turned to him.

“Oh, hey, wait. I’ll go too.” Lee said good night to everyone and then followed Richard outside. The Englishman didn’t look up as they left; sure everyone was watching them as they exited the door. He could practically feel their eyes on his back.

The apartment was only a few blocks away, well within walking distance. The night was cold, their breath visible when they exhaled. Lee walked beside him quietly. Both were a little more than tipsy, but not stumbling about like idiots. The entire walk, Richard kept his head down, silent and brooding. 

Once they were inside, Lee took their coats and hung them up while humming something Richard could not quite place, flittering around the room, all happy and content. Richard stood near the door still, not at all sure of how he was feeling and why he should feel that way.

“Hey! Do you want me to make some coffee?” Lee asked. He turned, finding Richard still by the door, and the smile that had been plastered on his face slowly faded away to be replaced by concern. “Darlin’, what’s the matter?”

“Nothing,” Richard mumbled. He just wanted to go to bed and go to sleep. He was afraid, given the mood that he found himself in, that he would say something he didn’t mean or that Lee would say something to provoke him unintentionally. Richard knew he had a bad temper, and he had managed to keep it in check for as long as he had known Lee. He didn’t want the younger man to see that side of himself and scare him away.

Lee stood there for a moment, unsure of what to do. He knew there were times when he could nudge Richard and everything would be fine, but he also got a sense that there were times when it was best to leave him alone. Now was one of those times.

“Okay,” Lee said softly. He wanted to go over to the older man and hold him, not say a word, just hold him, hoping it would ease some of the tension that was surrounding his friend, but he was unsure if that would help or make it worse.

Richard looked over at Lee. The younger man was standing there, hands shoved in his pants pockets, his shoulders slumped, the look on his face one of confusion and insecurity. Richard sighed, hating himself, because he knew he was the cause of Lee’s current, out of the ordinary, demeanor. 

“Babe, I’m sorry,” he began, moving carefully around the furniture to get to the other man. “It’s just been a long day, and I’m tired, and – “

“You’re upset ‘cause everyone knows about us,” Lee finished. That wasn’t what Richard had been going to say – he had been trying his damnedest to not even think about it, even though it was true. Lee was looking at him now, his eyes intent and wide, emotions passing like clouds over the sun. “Are you – ashamed of us? Is that why you didn’t want anyone else to find out? Because us being together…you being with me, embarrasses you?”

“What? No! I’m not, Lee. I am not ashamed of us or what we have together,” Richard said. He wanted to believe his own words. He really did.

“Then why are you so upset that everyone knows?” Lee asked. His eyes were a little too misty for Richard’s liking. “Why is it such a bad thing to you?”

“Because I don’t like everyone knowing everything. There are some things that are none of their business,” Richard said. His voice was no longer calm but rather close to yelling. “I can’t understand how you can be so nonchalant about it.”

“Because I’m not mortified by the fact that we are together,” Lee answered, his voice also taking on a different manner. “It’s a good thing, what we have. A very good thing.”

“For how long?” Richard knew he should just walk away, before he said something he was going to regret, both of them would regret, but he was tired, and drunk, and upset – yes, upset – about what had happened that morning with James and the others. It had been boiling inside of him all day, and now he just couldn’t hold it in anymore. “We both know once this movie is over, once filming is done, that this _thing_ between us is over as well. We will both go our separate ways, and that will be it.” By the end, he _was_ yelling.

“Is that all I have been to you?” Lee’s entire demeanor, not just his voice, had an edge to it, one that Richard had only seen and heard when Lee was Thranduil. Cold and stoic, the only difference was that his eyes were blazing with pain and anger. “This entire time,” he began, every word drawn out with precision, “I have been nothing more to you than someone to fuck while you are far away from home? Look me in the eye and tell me that is all we have been to each other.”

Richard looked Lee in the eye, and in spite of everything, he had no intention of telling Lee that because it was not the truth, far from it, but he couldn’t get out what he wanted to say. Lee must have seen something in his eyes, though, for he gasped, his jaw slacking in shock. They just stood there, staring at one another for what seemed like hours, but was only a few seconds. And then, without a word, shaky in his steps, Lee turned from him, and the last sound Richard heard from his friend was the door closing softly as he left.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't hate me!! I fix it in later chapters. I promise!!!


	4. Miserable

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lee is miserable and Richard is sorry. Ian is, well, Ian.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> More feels. Will make it better soon.

Lee was miserable. 

He had walked the streets for hours, hoping the cool air would sober him up, and the time would help him wrap his mind around what had just happened with Richard. He just couldn’t believe what had been said and how the other man had been acting, and how angry he had gotten. All of that, plus the fact of what Lee had seen in Richard’s eyes.

Had he really seen what he had thought he had seen there? Was that all he was to Richard, a ‘fuck buddy’? Lee had never, not even the first night they had been together, even remotely thought that. There was too much there – too much emotion for it to just be a casual fling. It had to be more than just that. If it wasn’t, then why had Richard flown 17 hours just to be there the opening night of his play, and then flown back the next day? And he had seen how Richard had looked at him so many times before, felt the way he touched and kissed him, and all those times, those heated moments in the throes of passion, those had not been just lust and sex. No! Lee refused to believe that. He _wouldn’t_ believe that. 

Lee hugged himself tighter against the cool air. He really should have brought a coat, but he wasn’t thinking when he had left. He had just had to get out of the apartment and away from Richard before even more hurtful things were said. He wished he had Richard’s pea coat. Hell, he wished that he was safe and happy at home, in bed, with Richard, wrapped up in his arms, held close to his body, their heat combining in a blanket all their own. Home? Was an apartment in New Zealand home?

Yes, as long as Richard was there, then, yes, it was home.

This couldn’t be the end. It just couldn’t be. Because if it was, then how was he ever going to live without the man he had grown to love?

____________

Richard had meant to stay up and wait for Lee to return. He was sure the younger man _would_ return considering that his wallet was here as well as his clothes. Richard wasn’t sure if Lee had his key with him or not, so he had left the door unlocked just in case. 

But the day had been exhausting and after only a few moments in bed, his eyelids got heavy and sleep was not long in coming. 

He awoke when he heard someone in the room, and at first he was alarmed, but certainly an intruder would not be taking off their clothing, so he relaxed. It had to be Lee. When he felt the bed move as the younger man began to lie down, he began to turn over and let Lee know he was awake. He wanted to apologize for the things he had said, he wanted to beg for forgiveness. He wanted to take Lee in his arms, and hold him, and kiss him, and plead with him until the American absolved him. But he didn’t. For some reason he remained still, pretending to be asleep, and after a little while he was once again.

When he woke in the morning, Lee was not in their bed. Richard knew there was no sense in looking about the apartment. He could feel how cold and empty it was. Lee was already gone. 

Panic set in. Blind, unadulterated panic. Richard jumped out of bed and ran to the closet. Lee’s suitcases were still there along with his clothing on his side of the closet. Richard went ahead and checked the dresser and the cabinet in the bathroom just to make sure. Everything was where it should have been. Letting out a deep sigh of relief, he made his way to the kitchen.

And there in the doorway he froze. His hands began to shake and he felt tears burn his eyes. In spite of the fight, Lee still made sure that he took care of Richard.

He had made coffee.

___________________

Richard had tried several times, but Lee would not answer his phone. Like Richard, there was nothing scheduled for him at Stone Studios today. It was rare that Richard had a day where nothing was expected of him. So, he and Lee had made plans for today, to stay at home in the apartment, watch TV, and make love. 

He left at least half a dozen messages. “Lee, please call me.” “Lee, call me when you get this, please.” “Babe, we really need to talk.” “Please, baby, just call me.” And so forth and so on. He wanted to apologize. He _needed_ to apologize, but he wasn’t about to do that in a recorded voice message. He needed to do it face-to-face.

He ended up going to Stone Studios anyway, just to see if Lee was there for some reason. He kept having the thought that the American was out looking for some place else to live and when Richard returned to the apartment he would find all of Lee’s belongings gone. It was a dreadful thought, one that made him feel rather desperate to find his friend.

There were others who were working today and one of them was Ian. When he went around the trailers just to see if anyone had seen Lee, Ian was standing in the door of his trailer, coffee cup in hand, the only thing missing from him being Gandalf being the pointy hat. 

“What brings you here today? Isn’t it your day off?” Ian asked when he saw him.

“Yeah, but…” Richard sighed. “Have you seen Lee at all today?”

Ian shook his head ‘no’, but then got a suspicious look on his face. “What happened? What did you do?” He eyed Richard warily out of the corner of his eyes. 

“I might have fucked everything up,” Richard admitted. He felt smaller and thinner and colder, as if he was losing something precious, and he knew that there was a good chance that he was doing just that.

“Come inside. Have some coffee. Tell me all about it.” 

Richard was not usually one to talk about, well, much of anything unless he utterly had to. But for some reason, it just made sense to talk to Ian. 

Once he was inside and holding a cup of steaming coffee, he told Ian everything that had happened the night before. When he met the older man’s eyes, bushy eyebrows and all, he expected the room to darken just like it had in the first movie when Gandalf wanted to get the arguing dwarves’ attention. Instead, he got a rolled up newspaper upside the head.

“You are a bloody fool. Do you know that?” Ian scolded, tossing the newspaper down. Richard rubbed at the side of his head, moving a little bit over just in case Ian reached for his weapon again. “Let me tell you something: good things don’t come along very often, especially in the matters of love. You are a bloody stubborn fool. And my best advice to you is to go home and apologize and do whatever you have to do to make this right. That young man cares a great deal about you, and unless you make him, he won’t go anywhere, not ever.”

Richard nodded, leaving his coffee untouched on the table as he got up to leave. Before he did though, he turned and asked Ian, “How did you know, about Lee and me?”

“Sometimes that which you try to hide the most, is the easiest to see.”

Richard smiled in spite of himself. “Thank you, not only for the coffee and for listening, but I think the newspaper upside the head knocked some sense into me.”

Ian chuckled. “That’s what I’m here for. Now go. Shoo! Make everything alright.”

“I will,” Richard said. He meant it and Ian could tell.

“You’d better,” Ian murmured to himself after his fellow Englishman was gone. “You had damn well better.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to my beta and buddy, lost_kitty for catching those things that I miss - mice included.


	5. Trust

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Our boys finally make up. And there's a shower.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A friend of mine, Sue, actually wrote this for me a month ago and told me to do what I wanted with it. So I added around the 'shower scene' and then switched it around because I thought it was better for my fic that way. Enjoy!!

Lee stood in the shower, letting the warm water hit his face, trying not to think about the night before or Richard, both were equally hard to do. He had been avoiding the Englishman all day, listening to the messages he had left, but not returning them. He hadn’t wanted to face Richard’s reaction or lack thereof this morning, so he had gotten up before the other man had woken up, made coffee, and then gone out for a run. He had only just moments before returned home to take a shower. 

 

With his eyes closed, he used a bar of soap to rub across his skin from his shoulders down to his knees. One foot and then the other were washed. Standing up straight, he turned around, eyes still closed and let the water spray against his stiff shoulders. As he lifted his hands up to his face, he heard the bathroom door open. He kept his eyes closed, knowing it was Richard. Lee had locked the door because he knew the other man had a key. He didn’t open his eyes, not wanting to spoil the moment of tension and anticipation by saying anything he'd regret later, and leaving an opening for Richard to do the same.

 

When the shower door opened, Lee was again tempted to open his eyes, but there was soap running down his face from his hair and he didn’t want any to get in his eyes. He had no idea what Richard was up to, not until a pair of hands slid across his chest and taut stomach, moving across his lean hips and then down to grasp his penis. 

 

Lee immediately hardened. When Richard's lips encircled the head of his cock, Lee let out a deep sigh and then did open his eyes. Richard was crouched down in front of him, naked and beautiful, sucking on his cock. His balls were lifted and softly kneaded as Richard worked his way down Lee's long shaft and back up. Again and again, Richard went from the top of his cock down to the base, always squeezing his balls. With his toes starting to curl, Lee let his hand drop to Richard's head, gently touching while his friend continued to suck, lick and kiss his penis, and then moved on to his balls. One was sucked into Richard’s mouth and he teased it with his tongue the same way that he kissed Lee, letting his tongue glide around the round orb in an erotic French kiss. As the ball was replaced with the other, Lee let out an audible sigh and gripped Richard by the back of the head, pushing his cock into his face. Richard obliged by placing the length of his penis into his mouth, sucking harder until Lee thought he would explode. Right before he came, Richard let Lee's cock slide out of his mouth, stood, and turned around, pressing back up against him. 

 

Lee stood motionless for a few seconds, shocked. While Richard did not really consider himself the dominant one in their relationship, Lee had no problem being the bottom, so-to-speak. He really not only preferred it, but enjoyed it. They’d had a conversation once about it, and talked about switching roles and positions, but it hadn’t happened as of yet. Richard had been with men before, though it had been a while, and he wasn’t new to the concept of being the bottom. It was Lee who had never initiated it, mainly because Richard was on set more than he was, and Lee didn’t want him to have the added burden of muscles protesting that he wasn’t accustomed to protesting while running around in his dwarf costume, and especially if he had to ride a horse. That would just be cruel.

 

Richard offering him this now, with no hesitation, not only proved to Lee that he was sorry for what he said (honestly, Lee had really already forgiven him, but that was a conversation they would have later), but also a certain amount of trust that meant a great deal to the younger man. It meant a lot more than the actual act. Much more. Richard was letting him know that he cared about him and that he was not yet willing to let what they had together go.

 

Biting his lip, more to force himself to focus than anything, Lee took the bar of soap, and started to wash Richard's shoulders and back and smiled when his friend leaned forward, bracing his hands on the glass side of the shower. Lee parted the cheeks, lavishing the curve between his cheeks with soap and let his fingers slide around the puckered opening. Richard made a noise that was a cross between a moan and a grunt. Encouraged by the sound, Lee grabbed him by his hips, pushing him forward and knelt down. As the soap was washed away, Lee spread Richard's cheeks further apart and let his tongue dart across the sensitive rosy hole. He heard Richard gasp as he licked harder, sliding his tongue inside. 

 

While the soap was handy, Lee knew that it would not serve in the way of lubricant. Luckily, like men with some common sense, there wasn’t an area in the apartment that was not stocked, just in the case of an emergency. He stood quickly, frantically searching and finally finding it. He was shaking and couldn’t get the damned lid open. Knowing it wasn’t going to do either of them any good if he went about this all wrong – rushing about, shaking like a leaf in anticipation – and knowing for certain that the last thing he wanted to do was hurt Richard, Lee forced himself to take just a moment, taking several deep breaths to calm down, before continuing. 

 

It only took a brief amount of time until he was sure he was composed enough to do what had to be done. The lube was amazingly warm on his fingers, and he had to make sure that it didn’t wash away in the shower spray, so he shoved the shower head back some to keep it from raining water down on them.

 

The soft skin opened and sucked in his finger. Richard's hips bucked and Lee, noticing that the lube was flavored (he didn’t remember buying this particular one), returned to licking his anus, inserting two fingers this time, and working the warm, slick channel before he stood up and placed the head of his cock at the opening. Not a word was said as Lee eased his cock into Richard, gliding in with ease as his friend spread his legs farther apart as they started to rock together. 

 

It had been a while since Lee had been on this side of things and it was so incredible that he swore they were going to do it this way more often and he was sure Richard would be in agreement with him. His lover was so tight and so hot that Lee had to pause a moment, gripping the base of his own cock to keep from coming right there. He closed his eyes, drawing in deep breaths, but when Richard got his attention, urging him to stop wasting time by clenching his inner muscles. Lee whimpered loudly, but did as requested, and began to move again, releasing himself and thrusting all the way inside.

 

Lee kept his hands in a firm grip on Richard's hips as he fucked him, going from gentle to hard with a subtle command that came as a nod. Biting his bottom lip, Lee moved in and out of Richard, giving him everything that he wanted, knowing Richard wanted to apologize for their fight and make everything alright. When he heard Richard start muttering his name, Lee braced his feet apart and moved faster; slamming into the perfectly shaped ass that seemed made specifically to be fucked. At the moment Lee released his pent up sperm, he saw a splatter of white hit the glass in front of him and wash away. Totally spent and feeling much more content than before, Lee slid his arms around his friend's torso. Remaining inside of Richard for as long as he could, he held him close, kissing the back of his neck and nuzzling his ear. Arching back, Richard turned his head in order to kiss Lee on the mouth. In that moment, Lee let the Englishman know that all was forgiven.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always, thanks to lost_kitty for being my beta!!
> 
> Just one more chapter to go. Should be up soon.
> 
> And I have a few more fics to post after that. And then yet a few more ideas (okay, several) that I just need to type up. *sighs* These two are consuming me!! But I love them so!


	6. Truth

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Here it be! I hope everyone enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it!

It was only an hour later when Lee found himself flat on his back with his heels dug into the cheeks of Richard’s ass, his fingers scraping the other man’s ribs as he was pounded into relentlessly. It was fast and hard, no romance or foreplay whatsoever, but Lee needed it rough just as much as Richard needed to give it to him so vigorously.

Richard was hammering Lee’s prostate with pinpoint precision. He had used his knowledge of the younger man’s body to target that bundle of nerves with the very first thrust of his cock, and had been pounding it relentlessly ever since, never once missing his target. Lee’s head was pushed far into the pillow, his neck stretched taunt and he could feel the headboard not too far above him, much closer than it had been when they had started. 

Richard was braced above him, hands on either side of Lee’s shoulders. Lee was begging - _begging_ \- for his lover to go faster, harder, and Richard gave him a little more, his eyes wide open, refusing to miss even a minute trace of emotion that crossed Lee’s face. He managed to hold himself up with one arm, while the other reached down to touch Lee’s very sensitive cock, and just three strokes and he was coming, they both were, together. And even though it had just been barely an hour since the last time, this climax shared was just as intense, if not more so, than before. Lee clenched his jaw, as his body arched, the sound coming from him a long grunt that came from deep in his throat. 

Richard was panting, breathing his name over and over again like a mantra, with the reverence of a prayer. They stayed this way for a few moments, basking in the afterglow, reluctant to move away from the other, regaining their breath. Finally Richard, his arms shaking from strain, pulled out, causing them both to hiss, and lay down next to Lee. The younger man, in a vain effort, found himself clenching his muscles tightly once again, trying to ebb the trickle of semen escaping from inside, but it was futile. The muscles were too stretched, too abused, to thwart gravity, so he gave up and allowed himself to relax once again.

They lay in silence for a few moments, just breathing. Finally, Richard spoke.

“I feel as if I should be begging for your forgiveness every second of every day for at least the next ten years,” he said, his voice a little hoarse.

Lee smiled, one arm thrown over his forehead. Ten years? That sounded promising to him. He swallowed hard. “I had already forgiven you. I woke up this morning and when I looked over at you, I forgave you in that moment.”

Richard shifted next to him, and when Lee removed his arm from over his eyes, he looked to find the Englishman facing him, his head propped up on an elbow. “How? How could you just let it go like that, after what I said and how I acted? I hurt you.”

Lee’s smile turned soft and he reached up to brush sweaty locks of hair from the older man’s forehead. He took a deep breath and it was not only a physical one, but a mental and emotional one. He looked Richard deep into his eyes and whispered: “You forgive the ones you love.”

The change that came over the other man was so profound and so instantaneous that Lee couldn’t help but watch in amazement. He could see the walls that had been in place, the ones too strongly built to crack, finally come tumbling down. Eyes going wide, Richard’s face softened, and the eyes, so blue and beautiful, were like the sky breaking through dark clouds.

He reached out and pulled Lee in for a kiss that was deep and profound, passionate, and so full of love that Lee felt tears sting his eyes at the beauty of it. When they pulled away to breathe, Richard once again looked into Lee’s eyes, and the American could so clearly see his every thought, emotion, dream, and belief that he felt the words before Richard even spoke them.

“I love you,” Richard said with conviction, sincerity, veracity, and ardor. It was so much truth to the words, so real and genuine that he perceptibly could not fathom why he had not said it before. “In fact, I am so in love with you it hurts, but in a good way. I am completely nuts about you. I love everything you do and the way you do it. I love everything about you and I don’t want a single thing to change. I love the way you smile and laugh. The way you move. I love the way you look at me.” It was like a dam breaking and everything he had ever wanted to say to this man and every emotion that he had held in check just flowed out of him, unable to stop, and he didn’t want it to. “I love how, for once in my life, I feel alive and I feel whole and it is because of you. I love how you see right to the heart of me and know me so well, sometimes better than I know myself it seems. And I thank heaven and God that you came into my life. And I can say with absolute certainty and sincerity that I will love you and all that you are for the rest of my life.”

Lee was so overcome by the words and earnestness and openness and enormity that all he could do was laugh and cry, pull the other man as close to him as possible and hold him, kiss him where he could reach and bask in the joy he felt. 

“I love you,” Lee whispered, just as sincere as Richard had been. “I have loved you even when you didn’t know and now I amazingly love you even more.” Still holding the other man close, he whispered: “I was going to ask you, once the movies are done filming, if you would come and stay with me in New York. I know it is far from England, and that is your home, but I was hoping you would at least consider it. And if you like it, we could go and maybe look at houses outside of the city. Not too far, just where we could have some privacy and a yard for Carl and the other dogs we could adopt, and not anything too big or just too small, you know. Just right and maybe we can find one that you could do some work on or something because I know how much you like to do that sort of thing and then it would be ours and it would be home.” Lee was rambling, like he often did, but he couldn’t help himself.

Richard chuckled, his arms tightening around Lee even more. “You are right; it is far from London. But that is not longer my home. My home is wherever you are. And I would love that, to live with you, to be with you in our own house, and I would do whatever I had to do to make you happy. And we can have all the dogs you want.”

Lee began to laugh like a loon, he was so happy, and Richard followed him soon enough. Then they began to roll, with Lee coming out on top, and he kissed Richard with all the passion and love that he had and Richard kissed him back with the same.

Everything was going to be just fine. Better than fine. It was going to be perfect.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have so many plot bunnies for these two. I just started an AU of Richlee. Inspired by my sis and beta lost_kitty who sent me this spectacular picture of Richard. Just a hint. One word. PIRATE.
> 
> Thanks to everyone who read this and commented and left kudos.

**Author's Note:**

> I should have another chapter up soon. Enjoy!!!


End file.
